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A Crouching Yankee No More

For most of his career, Jorge Posada has held a corner locker in spring training, along the far wall, framed on one side by a pillar and a trunk. The arrangement creates a personal nook, ideal for a catcher with lots of equipment.

Yet as Posada got ready Tuesday morning, on the first day of workouts for what might be his final spring training, he did not need his shin guards or mask. Just a bat. He taped the handle meticulously, thin white strips in a crisscross, a good grip for a hitter who goes without batting gloves.

“Sorry,” he said, after answering a question. “I’m almost done.”

He meant with the taping, of course, but the same applies to his career. Posada, who turns 40 in August, is finishing a four-year, $52.4 million contract. When he signed the deal, the extra $400,000 made him the highest-paid catcher in baseball, $100,000 more a season than Ivan Rodriguez. Now Posada is a designated hitter.

Russell Martin is expected to be the Yankees’ starting catcher, and Francisco Cervelli is the backup. The top prospects Jesus Montero and Austin Romine are nearly ready, with Gary Sanchez close behind. Posada does not expect to catch much anymore.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I will be third emergency catcher, I guess.”

Posada ranks 24th on the career list for games caught, with 1,573, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He plans to rest his surgically repaired left knee another week and then start catching bullpen sessions. But Manager Joe Girardi would not commit to having him catch in exhibition games.

Martin, a two-time All-Star, is also starting slowly after knee surgery. Cut loose by the Los Angeles Dodgers, he signed a one-year, $4 million contract with the Yankees, who control his rights for another year through salary arbitration.

“That’s a good question,” Martin said. “We’ll find out. I can’t really know what’s going to happen. It seems like it’s not a problem so far. The main goal here is winning, and if I can help the team do that, then that’s good. If that’s not the case, they’ll figure something out.”

General Manager Brian Cashman said he liked the short-term commitment to Martin at a position earmarked for a prospect. His presence also makes it easier to trade a young catcher, and chances are Cashman will need pitching soon.

The pitching staff is not Posada’s problem anymore. All those games behind the plate — and 119 more in the postseason — have taken a physical toll, with parts of the last three seasons spent on the disabled list. The mental strain has been even harder.

“It’s tough, especially during the postseason, when you’re drained,” Posada said. “The win or the loss, every pitch counts. I think as a D.H., it’s a little different. Behind the plate, you’re involved in every play. Your mind can’t wander.”

The trick now, he said, will be staying warm physically and staying engaged mentally. Posada has played 89 games as a designated hitter, including 28 last season, but he has never been a regular there. He has tried to call Edgar Martinez, looking for advice, and hopes to ask Jim Thome when he sees him.

“I know how much pride Jorge has and I know how much he loves to catch and be involved,” said Girardi, who once shared the job with Posada. “He takes pride in his leadership and getting the most out of pitchers. That’s a transition.”

Posada never won a Gold Glove, and some veterans — like Randy Johnson and A. J. Burnett — preferred working with his backup. But catchers tend to make the position part of their identity. There is so much responsibility involved, and it hurts to lose it.

Cashman told Posada of his plans around the time of Posada’s knee operation in November. It was hard to hear it then, Posada said, though he was not surprised.

“I think I knew it was coming,” he said. “The team needed to keep looking at the future of the Yankees behind the plate.”

Posada is part of the past, third on the team’s career list for games caught. The two in front of him, Bill Dickey and Yogi Berra, have plaques in Cooperstown and retired numbers in Monument Park. Posada may not catch again, but he is not ready to retire.

The plan, Posada said, is to see how the season goes and then decide what to do. If he keeps playing, he said, he would not want to go somewhere else. But he will not dwell on the future.

“I can’t think of an end, because if I feel good, I want to keep going,” he said. “I want to go out there and play this year, think about the season, think about the moment, and not get carried away with what’s going to happen.”

The Yankees could use an open designated hitter spot as Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter age. Cashman said only that he wanted production at D.H., no matter who provided it.

For now, and maybe just for this season, that person is Posada, who accepts a role he never asked for. He has no other choice.

“I want to have a positive attitude towards everything,” he said. “They want me to D.H., I’ll D.H. That’s the mentality I want to do. I don’t want to keep thinking about it. Just, whatever it takes.”

A version of this article appears in print on February 16, 2011, on page B16 of the New York edition with the headline: Posada a Crouching Yankee No More. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe